‘Art’ at Capital Rep; 9/24/08

Kirk Jackson is directing a new production of Yasmina Reza’s play, “Art,” at Capital Repertory Theatre. The piece is nominally billed as a comedy, but in almost every previous regional production — and there have been plenty over the past dozen years — the more serious elements of Christopher Hampton’s translation have overshadowed the laughter.

In this one, Jackson makes sure that the laugh lines hit hard and fast, revealing the play is as funny as you always thought it should be.

Ostensibly, “Art” is about a pricey white painting, but it’s really about friendship, and never has that been more clear than in Jackson’s production. He draws all of the work’s characters — battling old pals Serge, Marc and Yvan — larger than life, and in colors much bolder than the bland painting.

These fellows don’t talk so much as crash into each other.

It’s also clear that Jackson has let his cast determine certain elements of their characterization. For the most part, this works.
When Stephen Paul Johnson, as ur-alpha male Marc, finally reveals the true depths of his disillusionment with his friend Serge (spurred by Serge’s expensive purchase of the painting), it is made even more palpable by Johnson’s gravity.

Somehow, from a stage 20 feet away, Johnson manages to persuade patrons to see him in close-up, as if he is directing a film in your head. It’s a fairly magical bit of acting.

Donald Corren, as Serge, tap-dances between being precious and preposterous. That’s not a criticism; he’s playing a French guy.

Oliver Wadsworth, as Yvan, perhaps pushes the envelope a little too far. Wadsworth has been praised for his comic skills at Capital Rep, but his antic posturing feels like shtick this time around.

His epic comic aria about setting the invitations for his upcoming wedding straight had the crowd in stitches on opening night, but the tone was wrong for the text. Wadsworth went for Lou Costello when Buster Keaton was needed.

And Yvan’s breakdown, when his friends verbally attack him, felt more comic than tragic. Jackson should have let the drama win.

Still, this production of the play certainly has many fine moments, and it will be a rich experience for those who have not seen it before.

Perhaps more importantly, it will reveal the promised grays, ochres and reds hidden in Reza’s off-white script.That’s a good thing. It’s rare, the production that truly lets you see a familiar play with new eyes.

Michael Eck, a freelance writer from Albany, is a regular contributor to the Times Union.
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